254 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the tree acts as a preventative. Where anj' nests of the tent cater- 

 pillar are seen, they should be pulled off and tramped upon, or they 

 may be killed by rubbing- the nests out with a swab saturated with 

 kerosene or soft soap. 



Strawberries. — In the bearing- beds, keep the soil well mulched 

 between the rows. The picking- and packing for market requires 

 great care and good judgment. All over-ripe berries should be ex- 

 cluded — one such will often spoil a whole box. To bring the best 

 prices the berries in each box should be of uniform size and ripeness 

 and in full, clean, new packages. 



Every blossom and berrj^ should be kept off from plants set this 

 spring, and frequent cultivation given to encourage a strong, healthy 

 growth, and where the matted row system is practiced the formation 

 of plants from the earliest runners should be encouraged by peg- 

 ging thein down or placing a lump of earth over them. 



Raspberries. — The green shoots that are growing now are the 

 ones that bear next year's fruit, the fruiting ones this season dying 

 after the berries have ripened. When the growing shoots of black- 

 caps reach two to three feet, the points should be pinched out; but 

 the red varieties are better without cutting- back before the end of 

 the season. All canes and suckers not needed for fruiting next j^ear 

 should be treated as weeds and promptly removed. 



Give thorough tillage with horses and hoe until the fruit is well 

 formed, then applj- liberal mulching to keep the fruit clean and 

 ground moist. Fresh mown clover is the best material for the pur- 

 pose. 



Blackberries. — Blackberries require much the same treatment 

 as black raspberries, but the j^oung canes maj^ be allowed to grow a 

 little longer before pinching. 



Grapes. — Grape vines set this spring should grow only one shoot, 

 leaving the lowest if it is a strong one and pulling off all others. 

 The young shoots of bearing vines should be tied up before they 

 fall over or are broken by winds. Pinching off the bearing canes 

 once as soon as three good leaves have formed beyond the last clus- 

 ter is beneficial, and the laterals that form afterward may be pinched 

 off once beyond one good leaf. Water shoots and surplus canes 

 should be pulled off, but further summer pruning is damaging to 

 the health of the vine. 



Currants and Gooseberries.— These will need looking after, 

 and shoots that are not wanted that start on the plants should be 

 pulled off. Watch for worms and apply white hellebore as soon as 

 any are discovered. A tablespoonful of the powder to a pailful of 

 water applied with a S5'ringe or sprayer is the most common remedy. 



The Kitchen Garden.— This is the time when a little work with 

 rake and hoe count most. Weeds must be kept down and the sur- 

 face soil tine and loose to get the best results. 



The cutting of asparagus should be discontinued towards the last 

 of the mouth and a liberal dressing of manure applied to the beds. 

 Keep the weeds and grass out. 



Beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, sweet corn, etc, may be planted 

 for the main crop, and the earlier plantings should be thinned and 

 kept clean from weeds. Cabbage and cauliflower need frequent 

 hoeing. Set plants for late use toward the end of the mouth, 



